Red Hot Drops EntreCard Club BlogRoll

Mariuca (a.k.a. Genie Princess) and Lady Java have formed the Red Hot Drops EntreCard Club and the membership drive is now closed...but you can still click anywhere on the Red Hot Drops EntreCard Club Blogroll below to start visiting the wonderful sites who made it into the 99 spots in the Red Hot Drops. Do come and visit us NOW!

An EntreCard Refresher Course

If you're looking for more traffic for your blog, EntreCard will help your traffic explode. You can sign up with any or all of your blogs (I have three so far), and (hint, hint, BlogExplosion members) you don't have to wait for anyone's "approval." You'll need a separate e-mail address for each blog you'd like to register with EntreCard, and it does get a little hectic to keep up on EntreCard requests and drops and advertising for several blogs.

To sign up for EntreCard, just click on any of the EntreCard text links in this post or on the yellow "Get One" in my EntreCard widget in the sidebar to your right. You can sign up and get started with the EntreCard quick tour.

Once you've got your widget up and running on your blog, you'll want to earn credits and start to "advertise" on Other People's Blogs. To earn credits, make sure you are signed in and go to Other People's Blogs to "drop" your card...you can start with mine. There are lots of "strategies" for how to do it quickly, but I just start with a favorite blog and "daisy chain" from there. Click the "drop" button underneath the widget (it should change from drop to "Thanks!" or "Go! Go!"), then click again on the widget and it should take you to the next site. The better organized bloggers choose blogs that fit nicely with their own to advertise on their EntreCard widgets, so you may find several books/writing, cooking, making money online or cute furry animal sites all in a row. You can only "drop" once per day on each widget, 300 drops per day per blogger (unless you have 2 EntreCards, then you can do 600 drops per day per IP address) so if you see a familiar widget it probably doesn't pay to go there again in the same day, at least not for EntreCard purposes.

You can use EntreCard at the same time as BlogExplosion. So if you’re surfing Other People's Blogs (OPB) on BlogExplosion or voting on a Battle of the Blogs, watch for the EntreCard widget and “drop” your EntreCard there, then click on the widget to open the next blog in a new window, while continuing whatever you were doing in BlogExplosion. You’ll earn one credit each time you drop, so you can turn around and use it for your own advertising.

Once you've earned a bunch of credits, it's time to "Campaign" and place your advertising on other people's EntreCard widgets. Do watch for bargains (64 credits or less for your favorites, and under “Campaign” you can browse by cheapest and get some new blogs for 8 credits), as I haven’t found the click-through rate on most blogs corresponds well with the high credits paid (I’ve paid 128 credits for a hot site, only to find that I get 18 click-throughs). I’m sure you’ll discover your own strategies for “dropping” as you go along.

Once you get the basics down, you'll want to pretty up your EntreCard square...after all, it is your Blogosphere Business Card and more people will click on it if it is more attractive than the basic orange stripey offered by EntreCard default. If you have my level of graphic design talent, you'll want to reach out to the EntreCard Design Shop by Matt Urdan...because life's too short to "drop" with an ugly EntreCard.

If you've listened to me in my exhortations to Join SocialSpark! and you're an EntreCard member, follow this link to the post on my site that helps with the BenSpark Social Cardsters Blogroll. The idea is to add the Social Cardster logo attached/under your EntreCard widget and link it to Ben’s (actually his name is Drew, but who am I to talk about nom de plumes?) Social Cardsters blogroll. I finallly got it right on my own widget and have provided a couple of info links for newbies like me on how to link an image.

That's all the tips I have for now. You'll find that EntreCard is a very helpful and friendly community interested in helping you become a more effective blogger and marketer of your blog. Many resources and tools are available on the site to help you take your blogging to the next level.

Enjoy EntreCard, it’s another great way of wandering around the blogosphere.

Life in the Corner

Tonight I caught naughty little 4-year-old Matthew (on left) sneakin' over to my "Parental Guidance Suggested" blog, Roxiticus Desperate Housewives, to look at the hot pix of Miley Cyrus that are due to appear in Vanity Fair.

Matthew is quite advanced for his age, even has his own blog about Life in the Corner. Before celebrating his fifth birthday, he has kicked my bouteaux in BlogExplosion's Battle of the Blogs. Matthew lives in the U.K., and warns us in his profile that he "tends to be quite naughty. I have a Mum, a Dad and an annoying, two year old sister, Becca. I seem to spend a lot of my time in the naughty corner. I'm not sure why but whilst I try to reach a conclusion on this and many of life's other mysteries, I'd thought I document my adventures in this blog."

He also got one of my favorite Blogger random questions:
Q. You've been invited to a fancy ball but the only thing you have to wear is an orange wooly jumper. What shoes do you wear?
A. My blue Bob the Builder Wellies.

Wise beyond his years, I tell you. If you catch him sneakin' around your blog in the middle of the night, you'd better let his dad know, even if it means he'll be back in the corner until he reaches legal age.

Mad Haiku

Mad Haiku. This dude

Really knows his syllables

Posts them on his blog.

EntreCard Design Shop by Matt Urdan

It all started with the BreeSquare. My friend Matt Urdan over at Meltwater. Torrents. Meanderings. Delta. made himself a brand new EntreCard Square (bottom right) a couple weeks back and I was envious. As one of the nicest bloggers in the blogosphere, Matt couldn't leave me with my boring orange stripey, so he made me the BreeSquare for use on my Roxiticus Desperate Housewives blog.

Matt's EntreCard Square designs are fun, creative, and personalized. If you're looking to replace your generic black or orange-stripe EntreCard, or if you're looking to update your current square with a new one, leave Matt the Michigan Rafter a comment on Meltwater. Torrents. Meanderings. Delta. He'll create a square you'll love, and he'll work for food (see his FOHBOH social network)...or EntreCard credits.

If you haven't tried EntreCard, then how did you get here? If you're looking for more traffic for your blog, EntreCard will help your traffic explode. You can sign up with any or all of your blogs (three of those squares are for my blogs), and you don't have to wait for anyone's "approval." EntreCard is a very helpful and friendly community interested in helping you become a more effective blogger and marketer of your blog. Many resources and tools are available on the site to help you take your blogging to the next level. But don't take my word for it, visit EntreCard now and take the quick tour. If you're serious about blogging, it will be the best five minutes you've ever spent.

Then you'll be ready to reach out to the EntreCard Design Shop by Matt Urdan...because life's too short to "drop" with an ugly EntreCard.

Hey...Nice Blog! Captured By Gravity

"We're all captured by gravity on a planet we must share. Unless you're an astronaut. Or an angel. Or an alien. Or a celebrity with a really good dealer... but I digress...."

When I was in college, my friend Heather liked to say, "There's a little bit of lesbian in each and every one of us." I didn't agree, claiming that I am a gay man in a woman's body. I'm afraid my friend Lynette thinks I was making a veiled reference to favorite...um...positions....but that would be both inaccurate and too much information. I just find that gay men appreciate the same qualities I appreciate in men. As proof positive, for the gay man in all of us, there's Captured by Gravity, with new eye candy posts at least one a week.

Captured by Gravity eye candy headlines include:

• "Hey...Nice Laptop!"
• "Hey...Nice Lawn!"
• "Hey...Nice Rock!"
• "I Spy...A Pencil Sharpener!"
• "Hey...Nice Phone Book!"
• "Hey...Nice Sandbox!"

The best part is, Mo, the owner of Captured by Gravity, gets paid for advertising links to all the key words!

We are captured!

Mariuca: Wishing On A Falling Star

Mariuca, a blogger who has befriended me through BlogExplosion, is the friendliest and most popular blogger in the blogosphere. Technorati shows 1,001 links to Mariuca, but that is only the tip of the iceberg.

Mariuca's blog, Wishing On A Falling Star, revolves around the ups and downs of her life as a freelance copywriter working from home. She has three adorable cats and loves collecting perfumes & daydreaming! Mariuca writes about anything under the sun. From hobbies and food to love and life, Mariuca has it all.


I have some really good news for Mariuca on the value of her blog (of course, the Roxiticus Desperate Housewives think Mariuca is priceless):

My blog is worth $644,140.14.
How much is your blog worth?

Chic & Sassy Designs

If you've come here via BlogExplosion, you'll recognize so many of your favorite blogs as Chic & Sassy Designs. Check out a sampling of Zoe's available pre-made templates in the widget below:

Best NYC Sports Blog: Laird NYC

My favorite New York City sport blog is Laird NYC, a blog focused on New York sports teams. Laird NYC also covers college basketball (March Madness!), fantasy baseball, and top teams and players.

Lady Java's Lounge

LadyJava's Lounge covers LJ's ramblings on daily living, home, family, health, love, beauty, shopping and product reviews.

Meltwater. Torrents. Meanderings. Delta.

Meltwater. Torrents. Meanderings. Delta. Born and raised in Detroit, Matt lived in Michigan the first 35 years of his life until work relocated him and he began his exile. Matt longs for the coast of Northwest Michigan and the towns of Charlevoix, Petoskey, and Traverse City...known collectively in Detroit as "Up North" and the Murdick's Fudge and Green Rivers from his younger days.

Matt was the first BlogExplosion visitor to encourage me when, with a 0-2 record in Battle of the Blogs, I posted that I must have the worst blog in the blogosphere. When I expressed envy at his flashy new EntreCard vs. my standard issue orange stripy, Matt tossed aside all of his important work to make the hot little BreeSquare you can find on this page and popping up on EntreCard widgets all over the blogosphere.

Tricia's Musings: A Nurse. A Wife. Living the Fun Social Life.

Another BlogExplosion favorite, Tricia of Tricia's Musings, says she has two mottos:
1. Live life to the fullest; and
2. Don’t have any regrets.

Tricia is married to a wonderful man, and works as an ER nurse. She enjoys her garden, good music, photography, cooking great meals and having a good time with friends, and adores reptiles. She has lots of other blogs about all of those interests, except perhaps the reptiles.

Tricia's Musings covers a number of topics:

• Living with Herps - aka Reptiles and Amphibians;
• Life in Toronto;
• Her neighbors' fascination with all things Tricia does!
• The hustle and bustle of the big city;
• Work;
• Events in the Emergency Department;
• State of Health Care in Ontario;
• Hobbies and Interests;
• My Garden;
• Music (her husband is a musician)
• Photography
• And Tricia's rambling random thoughts

Visitors to Tricia's blog will get an insight into how her mind works. Tricia warns that this might turn out to be very interesting, or very very boring, but I've found something entertaining every time I've zoomed in for a visit. Tricia has been off work for several months now due to illness, and doesn’t get out all that much, but she and her husband have a lot of friends and relatives who pop in for a visit from time to time and that keeps life interesting. Tricia claims that her husband is always doing something interesting or strange and that gives her a lot of material to work with on Tricia's Musings. Oh, and Tricia's neighbors? They are friendly, nosy, and sometimes do strange things - again, more material.

Bestest Pal's Blog: Ignore Liberal Politics

My Bestest Pal, who blogs at A Penny's Worth, started blogging before it was the trendy thing to do. As of this writing, he hasn't sold out like the rest of us. You'll find well-written posts on music, pop culture, and politics, and not a single paid post.

His "About Us" section reads as follows:
A penny for your thoughts indeed. Around here that would be a raise. What makes a good blog? I think thematic consistency, a little exhibitionism, and honest writing. I can promise you the last one. Most of my posts seem to be about music or politics. Some of them are funny. But all of them would love to hear a comment from you. Oh-- and please welcome God to the APW team. We're thrilled and humbled to serve as His earthly vessel.

Editing Luke: A Chapter A Day

Discovered via BlogExplosion, Editing Luke covers a 24-year-old's life as a film student, as a filmmaker, as a simple guy just trying to get involved in the entertainment he loves.

Roxiticus Desperate Housewives (Parental Guidance Suggested)

My first blog, started in August 2005, is Roxiticus Desperate Housewives:

Former disc jockey, current investment banker and mother-of-two coming to you from the Roxiticus Valley to report the quirks and sexual peccadilloes of the neighboring desperate housewives, or whatever else the milkman may have delivered this morning. Recently added, a directory of the Best of the Roxiticus Valley: Best of Mendham, NJ; Best of Bernardsville, NJ; Best of Chester, NJ; Best of Peapack-Gladstone, NJ; Best of Far Hills, NJ; Best of Morris County, NJ.

Family-Friendly Roxiticus Desperate Housewives Directories

The first spin-off of Roxiticus Desperate Housewives (Parental Guidance Suggested) was Family-Friendly Roxiticus Desperate Housewives Directories: includes directories of the Best of Mendham, NJ; Best of Bernardsville, NJ; Best of Chester, NJ; Best of Far Hills, NJ; Best of Peapack-Gladstone, NJ; Best of Morris County, NJ; and Best of Somerset County, NJ. Given the other content at the original Roxiticus Desperate Housewives, I thought it best to create a place for readers who come looking for "toddler ballet class" who might not want to be exposed to Eliot Spitzer prostitution scandals and nipple piercing posts.

Blogger with a Hint of Addiction

When I first started surfing Other People's Blogs (OPB), I found several bloggers who maintained multiple blogs. Each of them claimed that "once you get started, you just can't stop." About a month ago, this didn't make any sense to me, but today I find myself with ten blogs. Roxiticus Best Blogs, my newest addition, will focus on reviews of Other People's Blogs I enjoy as I surf the blogosphere.